31 Jan Ecommerce News Roundup | 30 January 2023
Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet have been making swinging cuts in their staff this year. A couple of points here – firstly, this follow periods where they had been hiring like crazy so this is probably a reversion to the mean rather than a cataclysmic net loss of jobs. Secondly, if you lose your job in the US on a work visa then you will probably end up going home asap. You have no rights (to work, healthcare etc) unless you find exactly the same job in another company straight away.
I have been listening to the excellent podcast, Money Maze. Most relevant to readers will be the one with Michael Birshan of McKinsey discussing the famous and pre-eminent management consultancy’s current strategy and preoccupations. I was staggered to hear that McKinsey now reckons that 40% of its staff are dedicated to ‘digital’.
And many of you may be familiar with Ometria – here is its super-clever founder Ivan’s wonderful retrospective on his decision making over the last year. Highlights include – people are the big differentiator; scale changes decision making; and “why the f@@k was I buying very expensive digital monkey pictures?”
IvanMazour
Best wishes,
James & Patrick
The 'resilients' do not wait and see; they act and adjust
UK ECOMMERCE NEWS – Crew, Bensons, Live Unlimited, …
Crew Clothing cites omni channel and partnerships (John Lewis, Next, Very) as factors in last year’s success. CEO David Butler points out “Our loyal customer base continues to grow and people chose to shop with Crew this Christmas.”
RetailGazette
Bensons for Beds (Buyer of Eve) reports growth and accelerates digital transformation. It seems, following the restrictive pandemic – all customers want is a nice lie down.
Furniture News
Live Unlimited sees it plus-size offer take it to profit after only 3 years. “2022 has been a very exciting year, our sales have increased across all of our retail channels… and our own website.” Rachel Heather, CEO & Co-founder
Industry.Fashion
INTERNATIONAL ECOMMERCE NEWS – Swatch, Inter Parfums, BOPIS…
TikTok one of the factors in Inter Parfums >50% growth
Glossy
US Ecommerce passes record $1Trillion
Forbes
BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) and smart phones big channels for US ecommerce
BusinessWire
Swatch Group shows strong sales in all regions outside of China. The hugely popular MoonSwatch has seen demand rocket
Swatch
And talking of moons and time! How do you work out the time on the moon? It will of course be critical for NASA’s plans for LunaNet and Solar System Internet
Nature
